Dave Gettleman insists he won't be an obstacle in hiring of new Giants coach

Dave Gettleman addressed what may be the biggest obstacle to hiring the next coach of the Giants: Himself.

Amidst a flurry of speculation that some qualified candidates for the job might shy away from it because of a conflict with Gettleman’s personality or an issue with how much power the general manager of the Giants wields in the organization, Gettleman said he looks forward to discussing such matters with potential coaches.

“I don’t understand the notion that I’m tough to work with,” Gettleman said. “I think it would be from people who don’t know me. As we move forward in the coaching search, it’s ‘The Dating Game.’ There will be the opportunity for them to look me in the eye and say: ‘Hey Dave, what up?' "

As for the long-held division of power between the GM and coaching staff that the Giants have employed, co-owner John Mara shattered that precondition on Monday when he said he would consider a realignment. Co-owner Steve Tisch seemed to take it a step further when he said he wanted a coach with “a very strong point of view, and he will be supported by ownership.”

“Whatever is in the best interest of the New York Football Giants I will do,” Gettleman said of the possibility of a new job description. “I would say to any coach that we talk to, that I’m here to help him. We’re all support staff. We really, truly are.”

The flip side of Gettleman’s current authority is that he is also on a very hot seat and has been put on notice by ownership. That means Gettleman might be gone next year, leaving a coach in the uncomfortable position of working under a new general manager who did not hire him.

“This is an iconic franchise,” Gettleman said. “The power of this franchise and the stability of this ownership will allay the fears of any coach that thinks about that.”

Notes & quotes: Gettleman said “the juice was worth the squeeze” to acquire defensive lineman Leonard Williams in a trade with the Jets even though Williams is to become a free agent this offseason. He said he spoke with Williams on Monday and was told that Williams wants to be back with the Giants. The Giants gave up a third- and a fifth-round pick for Williams, and to not re-sign him would be a huge waste of resources for a team that wants to rebuild through the draft. So why not just wait for free agency to make the move? “Because now we know what we have, and we were willing to do that,” Gettleman said…Gettleman also spoke on the decision to keep Eli Manning and his $23.2 million salary cap number on the roster for what turned out to be two weeks as the starting quarterback of the team. Gettleman said that decision stemmed from the rapid development of rookie Daniel Jones. “We really believed in Daniel, we didn’t know he would come that fast,” Gettleman said. “At the end of the day, it was time. It was time...We were fine with it.”...The Giants fired Pat Shurmur but not the rest of the coaching staff. Gettleman said those assistants still under contract would be free to pursue other opportunities and he would encourage the new coach to consider them for the new staff, but offered no guarantees they would return.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.